Never Forget Me
by werideforjustice
Summary: This is about Butch's past, how he got his infamous lip, and how he became an outlaw before we meet him in The Lone Ranger. He also has a love in here so enjoy! Listen to Mad World by Gary Jules as Butch comes across his childhood home. It reflects on Butch's thoughts on his childhood past after so many years being away from home.
1. The Angel

Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish was born in a very poor family in Texas and was an only child. He never had the experience of owning his first toy and his mother, Mary Ann Cavendish, wasn't exactly the warmest person ever. His dad, Eli Cavendish, was an alcoholic, _very_ abusive, and never seemed to come home that much, but despite his parents' behaviors, Butch actually grew up a nice kid, one of the nicest. He did attend school, but only up until he was 13. When he became 13, he was forced by his mother to get a job to support the family as a local carpenter. He didn't see a future for himself so he had to leave school anyways. He didn't have that much friends too. When Butch was younger, he usually sat alone from time to time when play time was announced at school while he watched the other kids play with their friends. He was a shy kid and he was always made fun of for being a teacher's pet by bringing his teacher an apple every day that he picked out from a nearby tree out of respect and for being so quiet. He spent each day Monday through Saturday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. working so he could get his weekly earnings. Whenever he would come home at the end of each week, he would say proudly with an achieving smile, "Mama, look! I earned 50 coins for this week!" Butch's mother never showed any sign of acknowledgement toward her only son. "So?" his mother would snap back. "Give me your earnings, boy." His mother said as she put out her hand to collect the coins. Butch didn't want to give them to her because he knew that she would only spend it on beer. Hesitantly, he gave her the coins. "Go to your room." she snapped at him and Butch walked to his room hoping that the next day would be a better tomorrow.

Butch went to work again as usual. He turned 15 the other day, but he had no celebration. He never experienced a birthday. He walked into the carpenter shop to get his work clothes put on. "You're late, boy. " His boss said. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tate, but I woke up late on accident. It won't happen again. I swear." "Okay, but this is your last, you hear?" Butch's boss was sometimes hard on him, but he was also a good father figure towards Butch. It seemed as if being too nice attracted the meanest people. Butch continued carving up an indoor dining table for a customer who requested one a week ago. Butch was almost finished with his masterpiece. He smiled at his work while he made some finishing touches, "Done. It's finished at last." He called up his boss to come inspect it. His boss walked in and carefully observed Butch's work. "Mm…you sure did a good job, son. Keep up the good work. The customer should be coming by soon. Just stay here just in case. I'm gonna go into town to pick up some more carving tools." And Mr. Tate rode into town. Butch smiled and felt proud of himself. This was the first time in 15 years Butch had ever gotten a nice complement and not from his folks. Butch waited in the shop until the customer came in to pick up their order. Suddenly, a knock was made on the door. "Hello? I'm here to pick up my table." a voice said behind the door. Butch got up from his chair and walked to the door. He opened it and there stood a girl about Butch's age. "Hi, my name's Lily. Lily Margaret Perkins." Butch, being the shy boy he has always been, didn't know what to say back to her. Also, he was shy because she was a _girl_. "Is everything alright?" Butch opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Lily grinned and then gave a sweet, soft laugh. "What's your name?" Butch had to say something eventually. "Mine is Bartholomew Butch Cavendish." "Well how do you do, Bartholomew?" she grabbed Butch's hand and shook it. She was a very friendly girl and _definitely not_ shy at all. "I'm fine, ma'am. Come on in. Your table is ready." Butch escorted Lily inside the shop. "My daddy was the one who ordered this table, but I'm only here to pick it up for him. He's been out hunting for a while now." "That's nice of you." Butch said in a soft tone thinking of his drunken father. "Well, here is your table." "Golly! It sure is beautiful. Did you make this?" "Yes I did." "Wow, thank you, Bartholomew! You have a talent!" she thanked him with a hug. Butch was too shy to wrap his arms around her. "You know, I'm going to need some help to bring back my table. Will you help me?" Butch wasn't allowed to leave the shop until his boss said so, but it shouldn't be bad if he went to help their very own customer. "Sure. How far do you live from here?" "Mm…about 3 minutes away. Not too far." "Your daddy paid beforehand for this?" "Yes." They both lifted the table outside and set it down. Butch's boss got back. "I see you're here to pick up the table. Let me help you." Butch and Mr. Tate lifted the table onto Butch's horse which had a cart attached to the back for transporting wooden creations to customers. "How about you to take the rest of the day off, boy? Your achievement deserves it, _but_ be back tomorrow bright and early, boy. We got more orders in." With a smile on his face he said, "Okay, sir. Thank you, sir." For Butch had never gotten a day off since day one of work. Butch told Lily to go first onto the horse. He helped her up and Butch got on. Off they rode to her house to drop off the order.

When they arrived to her house, they both got off. "Do you need some help with putting the table inside, Bartholomew?" "No I'm good. I got it." Butch struggled with the table. He didn't want to seem weak right in front of her. "You look like you need help. Here." Lily took the other side of the table and helped Butch take it inside her house. Lily's mother, Anna Beth Perkins, was there. "Oh, Lily, I see you got the table…Why hello there young man, I'm Lily's mother, Anna Beth." Lily's mama noticed Butch. "Hello ma'am." They set down the table into place. "Oh it is absolutely stunning. Whoever crafted this has a God given talent." "Mama, Bartholomew was the one who made this." Lily pointed at Butch. "Really? Oh, bless your soul young man. You have a knack." "Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate your acknowledgement." "Surely we must do something to repay you—" "Oh no thank you ma'am. You already paid for this table. That's enough." "I know, but we surely must give you something more than just money to thank you. How about you stay for dinner?" Butch didn't know what to say. He has never been given this much hospitality in his life. He didn't know if he was able to have dinner. He'd have to let his mother know, but it's not like his mother cares about him. "Thank you, Mrs. Perkins. That sounds nice." "You're very welcome dear. In the meantime, you can be with Lily as I prepare the food. It'll take a while. Go on now, you two." Butch was shy to be with Lily; for this is the first time he has ever been alone with someone around his own age. Lily took Butch outside in their front yard to sit down and talk on the porch. "So, Bartholomew, how old are you?" "I'm 15 years old. And you?" "I'm 15 too!" she smiled and Butch smiled back, but in a very shy way. "So what do you like to do, Bartholomew? What are your interests?" "Lily, don't call me Bartholomew, please. I'd like to be called Butch." "Oh, I'm sorry, _Butch_, anyways, what do you like to do in your spare time? Hobbies?" Butch thought about what he liked to do. He wasn't a very active and productive teenager. "Do you hunt?" "Yeah, of course I do." "Well, that's a hobby! What do you hunt?" "Anything really like rabbits mostly." "Swell." "What do you like to do?" Butch asked. "I like to play the violin. I also like to sing. I sing in the choir for our town's church." "Really? Can I hear you sing?" Lily had a sweet, yet soft laugh that Butch seemed to love hearing. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm really _that_ good." "Oh I'm sure you are. Come on, for me?" Lily grinned. "Okay." She started singing a flowing melody that everyone in Texas knew. It was an old folk song called "_Leaning on the Everlasting Arms_". Butch was mesmerized by her angelic voice. It seemed everything about her was angelic the more Butch looked at her. Her eyes, voice, laugh, even her face. Butch came to like her. _Really_ like her. This was the first time he liked someone in his life. Lily was done singing. "There. I sang, tell me how bad I was." she said in a joking manner. "You weren't bad at all! You have a very beautiful voice, Lily." Lily blushed. "Thank you." Butch saw a pretty flower in her garden nearby and got up to rip it off the grass. He put the flower behind Lily's ear. "For you. A beautiful flower…for a beautiful girl." Butch didn't know he had charm until he used it on Lily, and it worked. Lily blushed and took the flower from behind her ear and smelled it. She smiled and Butch and her continued talking for an hour or so holding each other's hands.

Dinner was ready in the Perkins' house. "Bartholomew! Lily! Dinner is ready!" Lily's mother called out and the two walked in. Butch realized Lily's father wasn't home yet. They both sat down at the table and prayed. "Lord, thank you for giving an amazing talent to this young man and thank you for giving us this food which we will feast upon tonight. In His name, Amen." And everyone began to eat. Butch was _hungry_. He was never fed too much at his place. "So, Bartholomew—" "Mother, he prefers being called Butch." Lily interrupted her mother. "Oh, well then, Butch, where do you live?" "Oh not too far from here, ma'am. Just a couple miles." Butch stuffed his face with the food provided. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm very hungry." He wiped his face with a piece of cloth. "That's alright, dear. There's plenty of food for you to eat. This _was_ made for you." Lily's mother smiled. "So, Butch, did you have a good time talking with Lily today?" "Oh yes, ma'am. Your daughter is nice. She sang for me." "Yes, my daughter has a nice voice doesn't she? She's in the choir at the local church." "Yes, ma'am. Indeed she does." Lily smiled. "Lily, did you have a good time talking with Butch?" "Oh yes, mama, we had a good time talking about each other's hobbies and what not. We're good friends now." "That's good. So when's the wedding?" Mrs. Perkins said jokingly. Butch choked on his food. Lily spit out her water. Mrs. Perkins laughed. "Oh you two, I'm kidding!" Butch and Lily looked at each other in an affectionate way. "Mama, I just met Butch." "Oh I know that, but Butch is such a nice, handsome young man for you. It would be a shame if you two didn't get married." "Mama!" Lily looked down in embarrassment. Butch, on the other hand, kept smiling. "It's alright, Lily, I _would_ make a good husband for someone and you, you would make a great wife for someone someday." Lily looked back up at Butch and her cheeks were as red as tomatoes. "Mama, can we change the subject before this gets uncomfortable?" "Oh alright, I was just having a little fun with you two. I was just teasing!" The rest of the dinner, they talked about miscellaneous topics. When they were finished eating, Butch helped Mrs. Perkins with cleaning up. "Well, it was sure nice of you to give me a dinner. It really made my day and it makes up for my birthday." "It was your birthday? When?" Mrs. Perkins asked as if she was going to throw another dinner for that. "Yesterday, but this was a celebration to me. Thank you again for the lovely dinner." Mrs. Perkins smiled at Butch for being such a respectful young man. "Any time. Thank you again for the table. It's a nice piece." "Well, I must be off now. It was nice meeting you. Enjoy your table!" Butch started heading out the door. Lily escorted him out. "When will I see you again?" "You'll see me sometime. If you ever want to see me, I'm always at the carpenter shop. You can stop by once in a while." Butch smiled. Lily held onto his hand. Butch then leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "See you soon, flower." He said as he held her face. And Butch rode back home looking back as Lily blew him a kiss with the flower still behind her ear.

It took Butch about 8 minutes to get home from Lily's house. When he finally arrived home at about 7 at night, his mother was waiting on the porch with a mad expression. Butch got off his horse and tied it to the stable. "Where were you, boy?" Mrs. Cavendish said to her son in an intimidating way. "I was eating dinner at a customer's house. They offered it because I made them a table at work." "You're not allowed to eat at others houses. You eat here and only here." "What are you talking about, ma? You don't feed me. You never cared when I was hungry. You never cared at all. I was hungry, so I said yes." Butch had to stand up to his mother. He walked past her and went inside the house. "What did you say, Bartholomew?" her voice rising higher and meaner. "I _said_ you don't care about me. You never cared about me since day one." His mother began being verbally abusive towards her own son. Butch knew she was drunk because she looked unstable and she smelled of liquor. "Bartholomew Butch Cavendish, are you listening to me? Whose house were you at, boy?" "I told you! I was at a customer's house. Their daughter came and picked it up from the shop and I came all the way with her back to her house to drop it off. Her mother thanked me and _appreciated_ my work so she offered dinner. The mother's name is Anna Beth Perkins and her daughter's name is Lily." Butch's mother stopped for a moment. She looked at Butch. "Did you say Anna Beth?" "Yes." "She has long blond hair and blue eyes?" "Yes." "You stay away from that no good woman. We had bad times together when we were teenagers." "She is such a nice woman though." "No she _ain't_. She's a devil. She was always tryin' to out do me. She was always doing one more better than me. She was such a show off. You stay away from her _and_ her daughter. I reckon she's a devil too just like her mama." Butch got furious. He didn't want to hear such a bad thing said about his precious Lily. "Her daughter is not a devil, mama. And neither is Mrs. Perkins. You're just jealous. I can't wait to get out of here. I'm gonna marry Lily Perkins to get away from _you_ and this wretched house!" Butch's mother got furious and picked up a kitchen knife off the table and held it towards Butch. "Damnit, Butch! After all I've done for you." "After all you've done for _me_? Name one thing you've done for me that was so great. You're nothing but a no good person. You were never there for me, you were never proud. _Why_ should I stay here?" Butch's mother was becoming steamy with anger at what her son has said. She started violently approaching Butch with the knife. She put it near his face. "I'm gonna cut off your mouth, boy, if you don't shut it!" "Go ahead! I don't care!" "Why you little—" And Butch's mother swiped her knife at Butch's face accidentally cutting open the top right of his lip all the way from the bottom of his nose. Butch screamed. "Agh!" Butch felt the blood dripping from the cut his mother gave him. Butch furiously went to his room to pack up his clothes and grabbed his gun to put it in his pocket. "I'm leaving. I'm leaving this hell hole! I'm running away! Far, far away from here!" Butch's mother realized what she done and tried to apologize to Butch hoping things would be better. "Butch—I'm sorry—I didn't mea—" "Don't you say another word, you _devil_!" And Butch grabbed his bag full of clothes and walked right out the door not turning his head to see his mother crying. "Butch! Come back here!" He got onto his horse and rode off. After all these years, he felt strong and powerful for the first time in his life. For he did not care anymore. About his mother. His father. His past. His job. Or where he grew up. He _had_ to leave.

With tears rushing down his face, he rode back to Lily's house hoping they'd be awake. When he got there, he got off his horse and he knocked on the door. He saw lights being turned on. Lily opened the door. "Butch! Why are you—" She noticed his lip. "Oh my goodness gracious, what happened to you?" She touched his lip. "Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it. It will heal." Lily's mother ran to the door in her night gown. "My word, Butch! What in heaven's name—" "I'm fine, Mrs. Perkins. It was an accident. Listen, Lily. I'm running away. From here. From this town. I came here to say goodbye." He held her hand. Lily looking upset and helpless. "You can't leave, Butch. I'm your flower, remember?" "You _are_, Lily, you _are_. But I have to go. I can't stay here. My mama will come looking for me. She knows I had dinner at your house. She knows whose house I had it at because I told her. She knew your mama a long time ago and she does not like her. She got so mad she gave me this cut." "Who exactly _is_ your mama, Butch?" Lily's mother interrupted. "Ma'am, my mama is Mary Ann. Mary Ann Cavendish." Mrs. Perkins looked at Butch. "Your mama…is Mary Ann?" "Yes ma'am." "And you're her son?" "Yes." She took Lily by the hand and pulled her inside slowly. "I'm sorry, but stay away from here _and_ my daughter." "What?" Butch looked confused. "Stay away. Your mama and I were in bad terms before and even now. I don't wanna do anything with her or her family. You might hurt my daughter. So leave, boy." "But Mrs. Perkins, after all I did. I made you a table. I came in to your house with respect and courtesy. I never did anything to harm your daughter or you. I would never." "Please. Just leave, Butch. I'm sorry." And Mrs. Perkins closed the door, but Lily opened it back up and walked towards Butch and hugged him. "Lily Margaret Perkins! Come back inside and leave him be!" "No, mama! Butch, please don't leave." Lily began to cry. "I have to. I'm sorry. I have to run away from this town. No one here likes me, not even your own mama, not even _my_ own mama. You're the only one that likes me here, but one person cannot change my mind. I _have_ to go." And Butch took her hand and kissed it. He pointed at the flower behind her ear. "Keep that flower I gave you so it will remind you of me every day. I love you." He kissed her cheek and walked away. Tears fell down her cheek as she watched Butch get onto his horse. "_Never_ forget me." And he rode off. She reached for the flower he gave her and held it close to her heart as she walked back inside her house.

Butch ran away from home as far away as possible and every single day he thought of Lily and only her. He missed her, but he had to leave. He didn't see a great future for himself in that dead beat town of his. Throughout the years, Butch had been roaming around Texas finding different places to sleep and to eat. He became corrupted gradually. He came across another run away by the name of Latham Cole. He was about Butch's age. They both were 17 and the two became instant friends. "That cut on your lip makes you look fierce." Latham said as he pointed at Butch's lip. They both found out that they came from the same background. Both once having abusive and neglecting households. As the two got older, the worse they became in soul. Butch wasn't nice anymore and became a thief. He robbed and killed anyone without feeling anything. Him and Latham were slowly shaping themselves into outlaws. Butch realized that in life if you're too nice, you'll be stepped all over, but if you seem intimidating and mean, you will be feared and get whatever you please. He also realized that the world was a cruel place. So Butch has become that way. Greedy, disrespectful, and he has forgotten about Lily. For he did not care for her anymore. Latham was a bad influence on Butch and has corrupted him. He taught him how to swear, to steal, and to do the unimaginable. Butch was nice from time to time, but when he didn't get his way, he became real nasty. He still fancied girls, but he was taught how to be a player from Latham. When Butch and Latham ran out of food, Butch would come across dead bodies in the desert and eat their body parts. He had no choice and became a cannibal. Latham didn't eat human flesh. That was the only good thing about him while on the other hand, Butch became an animal. The two rode off together wherever they could go. One day, they were riding through the desert on a hot day and the two passed out because of the heat. An Indian boy named Tonto found them and took them back to his village/tribe. The two awoke and the tribe greeted them with food and hospitality. As the two were eating by the river, they found chunks of silver in the ground. Latham asked the boy where the silver was. The boy refused to tell him and Latham pulled out a cheap pocket watch to trade with the boy for the location of the silver. The boy gladly took the watch and showed them the way. He led them to where the river began and Latham and Butch saw millions of valuable silver chunks. Butch and Latham now knowing where the silver was at, killed off the Indian boy's tribe so that only the two would own the silver to themselves leaving the Indian boy alone and deserted as they rode off as they devised a plan to get the whole lot of silver.

(Play "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" on YouTube while reading the rest of this. Keep letting it play throughout the whole entire song. It gives me chills and I almost cried.)

Back in Butch's childhood town, Lily was now grown up. She was 17 like Butch and still remembers him. She has an admirer now, but sometimes when she missed Butch, she would pick another flower from her garden and put it behind her ear pretending that the flower was from Butch as she softly sang and hummed "_Leaning on the Everlasting Arms_" as she sat on her front porch where the two fell for each other couple years ago. She hasn't seen Butch ever since he ran away, but every single day, she waited by her front porch hoping he would come back.

He never did. And so her garden was filled with many unpicked flowers. Not one flower was picked off the ground… for now Butch is just a distant memory in her thoughts.

Lily fell to a high fever and died from it by the age of 19. Before she passed away, she softly told her mother these exact last words by her bedside, "If Butch comes back for me, mama, tell him to pick every single flower from our garden and put them on my grave."

And then she drew her last breath.


	2. The Past Comes Back

Many years later, in 1858, Butch and Latham were still running around the deserts of Texas causing mischief. Killing, stealing, and running amuck around different towns, the two were slowly becoming outlaws and were becoming infamous around Texas. Butch and Latham are both now 28 years old and so many years had passed by ever since Butch ran away from his dead beat town and he still has forgotten about Lily, the girl he loved back in his teen years. One day, Butch and Latham were riding around in the hot desert heat. "How many more miles until we reach the next town, Cavendish? I'm thirsty and I need to get some shade." asked Latham. "I don't know. Be patient. We'll be there soon." The two were exhausted riding in the heat wearing wool clothing. Butch took off his hat and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He pulled a flask of whiskey out of his pocket and tipped the flask only to reveal no whiskey left in the bottle. He was dying of thirst. After a couple of minutes of riding, they saw a nearby town. "Oh thank heavens. It's about time!" exclaimed Latham. He kicked his horse, making the horse run faster towards the town. Butch did the same. They arrived. Butch and Latham had their hats on low to not reveal their faces because they were an infamous team. Butch looked around and had a look of remembrance to his face. The place had an eerie feeling. Not too many people were in town, only a few here and there. Latham and Butch stopped their horses near a saloon. Latham got down off of his horse, tied it to a nearby pole, and went immediately inside the saloon for a drink and to get some shade. Butch was still on his horse looking and skimming around the old town. He slowly had tears come to his eyes. "This was my home…" he said as he wiped his eyes.

Butch wanted to ride around the town to reminisce, but at the same time, how could he? He had bad memories here and did not want to remember it. So he left Latham at the saloon and decided to ride around for a bit to see old places to bring back memories. He passed by a small house. An abandoned house. He recognized it. He got off his horse and walked slowly towards the house. He stood there examining the house as he put his hand over his mouth. He choked up. "This was my house…" he said as he walked slowly to the front door. He opened the door of the abandoned house. An eerie feeling came upon him as he walked inside. Everything was where he left it since he ran away from home. The table, the beds, _everything_. He walked inside his old room and began to cry. The house was empty. It felt like a soul hasn't been here in years. He figured his parents were dead. His mama, probably from alcohol, and his papa, probably from alcohol or he probably never came back and is out there somewhere being a drunk, but he wouldn't know where he would be. He placed his hand on the walls of the house. He began to cry out of anger and started hitting the walls because he remembered his terrible past as a child growing up. "Stinking house!" he yelled. He couldn't bear to stand inside a house where he was tormented everyday so he walked outside and spat at the front porch. He got onto his horse and rode off with tears rolling down his face.

Butch kept riding around town for a little bit more until he wanted to go back to the saloon. He came across the old carpenter shop in which he worked at when he was a boy. He stopped by the shop and peeked inside to see young boys carving furniture. He remembered doing the same thing at their age. They had the same boss Butch had when he worked there. Mr. Tate was standing there, now a little bit older, watching the boys do their work as they carved chairs for customers, he presumed. He walked away from the carpenter shop and got back onto his horse. He kept riding around town and came across another house. A nice house with tons of flowers in the front garden. This house caught his attention. He swore he knew this place a long time ago, but the memories were foggy and he couldn't seem to make the connection. He got off his horse and walked slowly towards that little, nice house. He looked around and started to remember slowly. His eyes grew wider. "Lily…" he whispered to himself. He picked a flower off the ground and fixed his hair hoping Lily would be there. He knocked on the door. A woman, now a bit older, was standing there. "Who are you?" the woman asked. "Ma'am, are you Lily's mama?" Butch knew exactly who she was, but he wanted to start off sweet so he could get to Lily. The woman had a blank expression on her face. "Yes I am. Why?" she asked with a stern look. "I'm looking for Lily." The woman looked saddened. "Well, I'm sorry, but my daughter is no longer with me anymore." Butch put down the flower. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Sir, why are you looking for my daughter?" She didn't recognize him. "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Butch. Bartholomew Butch Cavendish." The woman turned angry and slammed the door in his face. Butch pushed open the door. He was determined to see Lily. "_Where_ is Lily? I demand an answer!" "She's _dead._" Screamed Mrs. Perkins at Butch. Butch's face turned distraught and he immediately had a frown. His heart sunk. "She fell to high fever when she was 19. Please _leave_. You bring back bad memories for me and for my daughter's past." The woman said as she pointed her finger to the door. "Well, before I go, where's her grave?" Lily's mama sighed. She did _not_ like Butch, but her daughter did have one last request before she died. "Her grave is at the Lutherville Cemetery…Not too far from here." She said with an upset face. "Thank you, ma'am. I shall go now…" Butch turned around and headed towards the door. "Wait, before you go, Lily had one last request for you." Butch turned around towards Lily's mother. "Before she drew her last breath, she said that if you ever came back for her, she wanted you to pick every single flower from our garden and put them on her grave…but _you_ _never_ came back for _her_ and _only her_, but now that you're here in town, at least please do that for her. She would smile upon you for doing that." Butch didn't know what to say so he went to the front garden and picked _every_ single flower until there were no more and he gathered them up. He got onto his horse and saw Lily's mother standing at the front porch. She smiled at Butch. "I have a lot more respect for you now that you're fulfilling my daughter's last wish. Do this for her." "I will, ma'am." He said as he tipped his hat. He held onto the flowers and rode off to Lutherville Cemetery.

When he got there, he got off his horse. He looked around to find a tombstone with Lily's name on it. He finally came across her grave. "_Lily Margaret Perkins 1830-1849" _He took off his hat. He kneeled onto her grave and laid the flowers down. He stayed there and began to cry. "Why didn't I come back for you? Why did I leave you, Lily?" he said as he was bawling. He placed his hand on her grave. "Why did I run away? Why didn't I stay for you?" he said as he bawled even greater. "I loved you…how could I have forgotten about you? After all these years?" he said as he placed his hand on her tombstone. He looked up at the sky. "Lily, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm sorry…I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I didn't stay. You're gone now. Forever…" He said as tears rushed down his face. "I'm sorry I forgot about you. I'm sure you didn't forget about me." He said as he wiped his eyes and had a feeling a guilt upon his heavy heart. He then proceeded to kiss the grave. "I'll never forget you ever again…" He got up slowly, put his hat on and got back onto his horse. He took one last look at her grave and rode off.

He got back to the saloon where Latham was at. Butch proceeded to tie his horse to a pole and walked inside the saloon. Latham still at the bar drinking. He went over to the bar and sat down. "Where have you been, Cavendish? It's been at least an hour." "I was riding around town." Butch said in a sad tone. "Whiskey." Butch told the bartender. "You look upset. What happened?" Butch picked up the whiskey the bartender poured for him and took a sip. Latham looked at Butch's eyes and saw that they were red. "Have you been…_crying_?" "Yeah, what's the matter with crying?" Butch asked in harsh tone. "Nothing, it's just what made you cry?" Butch took another sip of his whiskey. "A girl." "A girl made you cry?" "Yeah." "What did she do?" Butch looked away from Latham as he started to tear up. "She died." He said. "And what makes you so concerned with this girl's death?" Butch put his head down. "I once loved her. And she loved me." Latham wasn't the romantic type so he didn't understand Butch's love story and his feelings for this girl. "Well that's a shame." He said, but in an uncaring way." Butch reached into his pocket and pulled out a flower that he picked from her garden. He kept one of the flowers of the many that he put on her grave. He smelled its pungent scent, bringing back the memory of him and her as they fell in love that one night on her front porch, and held it close to his heart. "I'm sorry…" he softly said as a tear from his eye fell into his glass of whiskey.

PLAY "I'll See You Again" by Westlife, "When The Last Teardrop Falls" by Blaque, and "When She Loved Me" by Sarah McLachlan AFTER READING THIS. I CRIED...


	3. Don't Leave Me Again

The bartender saw Butch crying and walked over to him as he was wiping a shot glass with a piece of cloth. "Everything okay, son?" Butch looked up and quickly wiped away his tears. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said with a harsh tone. "You know, it's not a crime to cry. What happened?" The bartender asked hoping to start a conversation with him. Butch looked at the bartender as he took a sip of his whiskey. "Well, I once loved a girl back in my youth years." The bartender smiled. "I left this town when I was a boy for personal reasons and I left her behind. I forgot all about her and I came across here today after so many years only to find out that the girl I loved died years ago." Butch began to tear up as he put his head down. The bartender stopped wiping the shot glass, put it down on the table, and put his hand on Butch's shoulder. "It hurts to lose someone. I know. But somehow, we all have to move on. You got to hold your head up high and keep going… How special was she to you?" "_Very_ special. She was my first love..." "Well, I hope you can get through the pain, son." "Yeah." The bartender poured him another shot of whiskey into Butch's glass. "To help you ease the pain and your heavy heart. It's on the house." Butch nodded his head. "Thanks." He took the glass and took another sip from it. Latham, in the meantime, was flirting with some of the saloon ladies. Butch finished his glass of whiskey and set it down on the bar table. He got off of his seat. "Latham, let's go." Latham took the hand of one of the saloon girls and kissed it. "Until next time, my lady." He said as he tipped his hat and walked towards Butch. The two left the saloon together. They both untied the ropes of their horses from the posts and got onto them. "Where we headed to now?" Latham asked. "Wherever." Butch said as he kicked his horse and rode off with Latham from the old town of his. Butch didn't bother to look back.

A sunset was in view by the time they reached their resting location for the night. They proceeded to unpack all of their belongings. Latham set up his sleeping area as Butch set up his near a creek. They were well far away from Butch's old home town. Butch watched the sunset go all the way down. It reminded him of the sunset him and Lily watched on that front porch years ago. It made him choke up, but he didn't want to cry again in front of Latham, so he held back. "Butch, go grab some firewood. It's becoming chilly right now." Butch gathered up some wood and placed them on the ground. Latham started the fire. Butch sat down on the ground near the fire in a criss cross position. Latham sat down too. The fire was blazing through the night as the two ate some food. When they were done eating, Latham proceeded to ask Butch about the girl he was crying about. "So, you know how you were crying earlier? Who was that girl that you loved?" Butch looked at Latham with an angered expression. "I'm trying to move on with my life, Cole. I don't want to become sad again." "I'm just curious. What was her name? What was she like?" "Her name was Lily…She had the sweetest laugh and the sweetest voice. She was all around angelic, at least to me she was. I miss her so much…" Butch said. "How old were you two?" "We were 15 when we met and I remember that exact moment when I laid eyes on her. She was so beautiful. I could have easily made her my wife." "But you ran away." "Exactly. If I had stayed, I would've married her, but I didn't…and now she's gone forever. Nobody else can compare to her, Latham. _Nobody._" Latham didn't know what to say back to him. "I found out today from her mama that she died of some high fever when she was 19." "Well, she's in a better place now, brother." Latham yawned. "Well, looks like it's time for me to hit the hay. I need to sleep. Night, Butch." "Night." Butch said, still sitting by the fire. Latham went to his sleeping area and wrapped a blanket around him. Butch looked at the night sky. He swore he could see Lily's face in the stars somewhere. He smiled at the night sky. "Butch…" a sweet, soft voice whispered out of nowhere making Butch jump up. Butch looked around quickly. Nobody was there except him and Latham. Butch thought he was hallucinating from all that whiskey so he just went about his business. "Butch…" the voice said again. He got up from the ground and reached for his gun. "Who's calling my name?" Butch said as he was walking around hoping to find where the voice was coming from. He turned around and saw a figure sitting by the fire, but it was a transparent figure. Butch's eyes widened. He walked slowly toward the figure. He made out the face to be a feminine one. "Butch…come here…" the figure said as she reached her hand out to Butch telling him to come to her. Butch was afraid. "Who are you?" The figure didn't reply. He looked at the figure's face. "…Lily?..." Butch said softly. The figure was Lily's spirit. She had come to visit Butch. He cupped his hands over his mouth. "Is this really you? Your spirit?" Lily had transformed from her spirit form to her human form. "Yes, this is me. Lily Margaret Perkins." Butch held her face and looked into her eyes. He teared up. "This really is you? Am I dreaming?" "No…" she said as he held his hand. "I'm here." He hugged her. "Why didn't you come back for me?" Lily suddenly asked Butch. "…I forgot about you…but I came back today, to our old home town. I greeted your mama and she told me your last request before you died." "I know. I know you came to visit my grave. I was there watching you." "You were?" "Yes. That is why I followed you and came to visit you here." Butch smiled and held her in his arms. "It's so good to see you again." Lily smiled, but then quickly frowned. "Why did you forget about me?" Butch felt guilty. "I've been so caught up with my life as a delinquent; I guess I forgot about everything until I revisited our old town." Lily looked at Butch's face. "You've changed." She said. "I did." "In appearance and in morals." Butch felt ashamed. "What ever happened to that young carpenter boy I used to know?" she said as he held his face. "He's gone now." Butch said as he held her hand. "Why did you change?" "I was influenced by him and I had a bad childhood." He pointed at Latham who was now dead asleep. "I miss the old you." "I do too." They held onto each other's hands. "Remember the night we fell in love?" Butch asked Lily. "How could I forget?" she smiled and so did Cavendish. "We were so young." She smiled. "I must go now. I love you." She kissed Butch's forehead. He held onto her hand. "Wait, don't leave me…again." "I have to go. You need to sleep. I'll visit you again. Don't worry." Butch didn't want to let her go once again. "Please stay." "I will _always_ be with you. I will _never_ leave you again. I promise." She said as she kissed his cheek. Butch let go of her hand. "Never forget me." She said as she manifested into her spirit form and disappeared.


End file.
